August Is National Make-A-Will Month: Here’s Why That Matters
Every August, estate attorneys, financial planners, and nonprofits use the same reminder: this is National Make-A-Will Month. It’s not a federal holiday and nobody gets the day off, but the timing is deliberate. Summer is winding down, routines are about to reset with the school year, and for a lot of families it’s one of the few stretches where “handle the will” makes it onto the actual to-do list instead of getting pushed to “someday.”
The reminder exists because the numbers haven’t moved much in years. More than half of American adults don’t have a will or any other estate planning document in place. It’s not because people don’t care. It’s because writing a will forces you to think about your own death, decide who gets what, and pick who’s in charge if something happens to you, and all three of those things are easy to put off indefinitely when there’s no deadline forcing the issue.
National Make-A-Will Month is a manufactured deadline. That’s the whole point.
Why This Actually Matters (Not Just a Marketing Hook)
If you die without a will, state law decides who inherits your property, not you. Depending on where you live, that can mean assets going to estranged relatives, getting split in ways you’d never have chosen, or ending up in a slow, public probate process that costs your family time and money they didn’t need to spend. We cover this in detail in What Happens If You Die Without a Will, but the short version is: no will doesn’t mean no plan, it means someone else’s plan.
A will also does more than assign property. It names a guardian for minor children, names an executor to handle your affairs, and can spell out wishes that would otherwise never get honored. None of that happens automatically.
The Real Cost of Waiting
The most common reason people give for not having a will is “I haven’t gotten around to it.” The second most common is “I don’t think I have enough to leave behind to bother.” Neither holds up well in practice.
Getting around to it usually means never, unless something forces the timeline, like a health scare, a new baby, or a friend’s story about a messy inheritance. And the “not enough to leave behind” argument misses that a will isn’t only about assets. It’s about who makes decisions and who avoids a legal mess during one of the worst weeks of their life.
What “Making a Will” Actually Involves
A basic will covers:
- Who inherits your property and in what proportions
- Who acts as guardian for any minor children
- Who serves as executor to carry out your wishes
- Any specific bequests (a particular item to a particular person)
Depending on your state and your situation, you may also want a durable power of attorney and a healthcare directive alongside it. A will alone doesn’t cover what happens if you’re incapacitated but still alive, only what happens after you die. Many people mistakenly assume one document does both. It doesn’t, which is exactly the gap A Will or Trust Isn’t Enough walks through.
Three Ways to Use This Month
- If you don’t have a will yet: Use August as the deadline. Book time with an attorney (many offer flat-fee basic wills) or start with a reputable online service if your situation is straightforward. Either way, put a date on the calendar this week.
- If you have a will but haven’t looked at it in years: Pull it out and check the basics. Is the executor still the right person? Have you had a child, gotten divorced, or moved to a new state since it was written? State-specific rules can affect how a will is interpreted, and life changes can make an old will outdated without you realizing it.
- If your will is current: Use the momentum to finish the rest of the picture. A will only works if the people you’ve named can actually find it, along with your other important documents. That’s where a complete estate planning checklist and a central, organized place to keep everything (like an Orderly Affairs kit) come in.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is National Make-A-Will Month an official government observance?
No. It’s a widely recognized awareness campaign promoted by legal, financial, and nonprofit organizations, not a federal designation. That doesn’t make the underlying problem it addresses any less real.
Do I need a lawyer to make a valid will?
Not always. Many states recognize wills drafted without an attorney as long as they’re properly signed and witnessed. That said, a lawyer is worth it if you have a blended family, own a business, have significant assets, or want a trust alongside your will.
How much does a basic will cost?
A simple will from an attorney often runs a few hundred dollars in a flat fee. Costs go up with complexity, like trusts, business succession planning, or multi-state property.
What happens to my will after I’ve made it?
It needs to be stored somewhere safe and somewhere your executor can actually find. A lot of families lose critical time after a death simply hunting for the right paperwork, which is why keeping your will with your other essential documents in one known place matters as much as writing it in the first place.